tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1876225 2010-03-10T13:27:38-08:00 Useful information, recipes, videos on Asian dumplings -- how to make them and where to find good ones. By cookbook author Andrea Nguyen. TypePad AsianDumplingTipshttp://feedburner.google.com tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef01310f88c335970c 2010-03-10T13:27:38-08:00 2010-03-10T13:27:38-08:00

If you love dumplings and chocolate, this recipe is for you. Chefs Alexander Ong and Michael Siegel of Betelnut restaurant invited me for a lesson on how to make Siegel’s tasty creation, a mochi (sticky rice) wrapped dumpling that contains a filling of chocolate ganache. When I arrived at the San Francisco restaurant, Siegel was ready with all of his mis en place. We joked as he whisked, steamed, cut, and wrapped the dumplings. Siegel made it look so easy that for the first time, I felt like I could master Japanese wagashi-style confections and teach others too as well. I had invited my dear friend Carolyn Jung of Foodgal.com to join us that afternoon, but I hadn’t fully explained what Siegel’s mochi dumpling was about. Carolyn had to squeeze our get together into her schedule, and when she arrived at Betelnut and discovered that the dumplings contained chocolate, she...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef01310f7cf16a970c 2010-03-08T14:31:33-08:00 2010-03-08T14:47:52-08:00

If you’ve ever wandered through a Japanese market, chances are that you’ve noticed the dainty and lovely confections collectively known as wagashi. Diminutive, they can often take on gorgeous forms, such as the most perfect-looking peach painted with the subtle blush of summer. Bite into one and you may be surprised. The peach skin could be made of chewy sticky rice and the flesh may be made of sweetened bean paste. Several years ago, renowned Japanese food expert Elizabeth Andoh, author of Washoku among other titles, urged me to include wagashi recipes in Asian Dumplings but I demurred as the specific ingredients and precise techniques seemed way beyond mortals. Recently, however, Chef Michael Siegel of Betelnut restaurant in San Francisco convinced me otherwise. Siegel and I met at the Culinary Institute of America’s World of Flavors conference last November 2009 in Napa. Alexander Ong, a partner and the executive chef...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef01310f56d297970c 2010-03-03T12:28:03-08:00 2010-03-04T11:31:26-08:00

Everyone – we are now formally in the throes of the cookbook award season and I’m proud to share with you that Asian Dumplings is among the finalists for an International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) award. HURRAY! These awards are among the most prestigious in the cookbook writing profession and publishing industry. Over 500 books were submitted for the competition last fall. The judging committee evaluated and then nominated my book for an award in the single subject category, which covers publications that “focus on specific foods, cooking methods, techniques or appliances.” IACP judges, food professionals with stellar credentials, test drove recipes from Asian Dumplings just like many of you did. Boy, am I darn glad to have passed your and their tests!My first book, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, garnered two IACP nominations in 2007 in the best first book and international book categories. I was as thrilled then...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef01310f4ae05a970c 2010-02-28T21:39:13-08:00 2010-02-28T21:39:02-08:00

Earlier this year, Mike Miller requested that I put up a video on this nifty technique for gussying up a turnover-like dumplings. He has been a diligent dumpling maker and reminded me in his comment on the pleated crescent video that I owed him this one. I promised Mike and now am delivering. You’ll find this advance shaping technique referred to in the following Asian Dumplings cookbook recipes: Mongolian meat and caraway pockets (p. 50), baked Filipino empanadas (p. 111), Southeast Asian curry puffs (p. 125), and my childhood favorite -- Vietnamese shrimp, pork, and jicama turnovers (banh quai vac chien, p. 118). Aside from using the technique for dumplings, you can certainly put a rope edge on a pie crust. Enjoy and practice lots. Eat your way to perfection. Related videos: How to roll out Asian dumpling wrappers Basic Asian Dumpling Shapes: Half Moon, Pea Pod and Big Hug...

Andrea Nguyen tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341ef22f53ef0120a8d14cd6970b 2010-02-24T22:15:36-08:00 2010-02-24T22:17:55-08:00

I came home yesterday and found an oddly shaped package stuffed into my mailbox. The postage indicated that it came from Singapore, and on the back the sender revealed himself: Christopher Tan, an Asian food expert, author, and writer whom I luckily call a dear friend. Ha! We are in the Lunar New Year season and I upon tearing open the package, I found exactly what I suspected, a box of pineapple kuih tart, a dumpling/cookie that’s a must-have for Chinese New Year celebrations in Singapore. The tarts are fashioned to look like small tangerines, a traditional good luck symbol. The whole clove stuck on top underscores the tangerine effect. I first tasted the spiced pineapple jam filled treats in New York City at Saveur magazine headquarters, when I was visiting with Editor-in-Chief James Oseland. We were discussing the Asian Dumplings recipe collection and James said, “Here try these.” He...

Andrea Nguyen